Mark Evans

The Beginning of the End for Technorati?

You
knew it was only going to be a matter of time before Google moved into
the blog
search market. The question was whether it would be done through the
typical “beta” program or through an acquisition such as Technorati.
This issue has now been answered with the launch of  Google Blog Search (hat tip to Om Malik for quickly noting its existence) So where does this leave Technorati, Ice Rocket, Blogdigger, Feedster,
etc. given there is probably room for a small handful of blog search
engines and you know Yahoo, AOL and Microsoft will get into the game
soon? I think the key will be differentiation. While Google Blog Search
keeps Google's clean, no-frills look, it does not have - at least not
yet - the bells and whistles that make Technorati and Ice Rocket so
interesting. There is no ranking system or information on how many
other sites have linked to a post, for example. What it means is
Technorati, et al have to keep on innovating and provide new features
such as detailed statistics. It may force some companies to merge to
maintain their buzz and their viability. What about a three-way deal,
for example, between Technorati, Pub Sub and BlogBeat? Maybe Tom Raftery's view that Rupert Murdoch's News Corp. will look to acquire Technorati starts to make more sense now.
As for Google Blog Search, a quick test drive shows it's pretty sweet -
fast and effective. Without a doubt, I'll start using it on a regular
basis but I have no plans to abandon Technorati for the time being. Dave Taylor provides a nice overview on how to use Google Blog Search's new features, Robert Scoble does his own test run and provides some insight into Google vs. Technorati, while Anil Dash and SearchEngineWatch's Chris Sherman
deliver comprehensive looks at the various features. On a lighter note, Rick Segal suggests that Technorati “don't worry, be happy” given its the
blog search engine being targeted by everyone these days. A list of
frequently asked questions from Google about the blog search beta can
be found here.